Former Clemson Player Nathan Thornton Tallies Goal and Assist in Victory

May 31, 2012

FRISCO, TX – FC Dallas’ regular-season woes carried into US Open Cup play on Tuesday, and as a result, they’re out of the tournament.

FCD lost two starting defenders in the first half and allowed a goal shortly thereafter in an eventual 2-0 loss to the USL PRO’s Charlotte Eagle at FC Dallas Stadium in third round play of the tournament.

Charlotte’s Nathan Thornton sent in a cross to the right side of the box in the 43rd minute for Darryl Roberts, who headed the ball to the far left side of the net past a diving Dallas ‘keeper Chris Seitz. Thornton then shut the door in the fourth minute of extra time to seal the deal.

Thornton played at Clemson in 2006-09.

FC Dallas lost Zach Loyd in the 24th minute after a collision with a Charlotte player. The third-year man was able to walk off the field on his own, but held a bag of ice to his head while leaving the field.

George John went down six minutes later after trying to compete for a header against a Charlotte forward Joseph Kabwe in the Dallas defensive zone. John walked off the field under his own power, but after being evaluated on the sideline he was subbed out in the 41st for James Marcelin.

Despite the losses, FCD had some chances early, and dominated the majority of the second half, with a golden sequence that fell just short in the 68th when Scott Sealy’s header rebounded off the post, followed by Matt Hedges putting one of the crossbar.

But then Jackson was shown a straight red in the 78th minute for his challenge on Charlotte ‘keeper Clinton Irwin, forcing FCD to play out the final minutes of the match down a man. Dallas mounted a few challenges in the waning minutes, but it wasn’t enough.

Scoring Summary: CHA – Darryl Roberts (Nathan Thornton) 43 CHA – Thornton (Roberts) 94+

Misconduct Summary: CHA – Juan Guzman (caution; reckless tackle) 30 CHA – Luke Williams (caution; reckless tackle) 72 DAL – Jackson (ejection; violent conduct) 78 CHA – Thornton (caution; reckless tackle) 84

Lineups: FC Dallas – Chris Seitz, Jair Benitez, Matt Hedges, George John (James Marcelin 41), Zach Loyd (Moises Hernandez 24), Bryan Leyva (Fabian Castillo 60), Bruno Guarda, Andrew Jacobson, Jackson, Scott Sealy, Jonathan Top. Substitutes Not Used: Kevin Hartman, Victor Ulloa, Ruben Luna, Alex Lee. Charlotte Eagles – Clint Irwin, Devon Grousis (Luke Williams 68), Sean Bateau, Mark Bloom, Josh Rife, Darryl Roberts, Juan Guzman, Darren Toby, Mauricio Salles, Miguel Ferrer (Chris Salvaggione 78), Joseph Kwabe (Nathan Thornton 40). Substitutes Not Used: Eric Reed, Cheyne Roberts, Milton Blanco, Christian Meza.